Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Jurgen Klopp to consider £39m Liverpool star amid Ozan Kabak injury fears ahead of Man Utd trip
According to , Liverpool could be without Ozan Kabak when Jurgen Klopp’s side visit rivals Manchester United on Thursday night.
The FC Schalke 04 loanee missed the Reds’ 2-0 win at home to Southampton on Saturday with a minor injury, but is yet to shake the issue and remains a doubt.
Kabak has missed two Premier League fixtures since moving to Merseyside in the winter transfer market, having also sat out Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Fulham in March with a .
Klopp has called on Kabak to available top-flight encounters when fit since paying £1million () to seal a temporary deal, which includes an option for Liverpool to purchase the 21-year-old for £18m rising to £26.5m through add-ons.
The German head coach is now considering forming a makeshift backline at Manchester United on Thursday with a return to central defence for Fabinho, who has in the role this term but returned to midfield for Saturday’s win over Southampton.
Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams were Klopp’s favoured choices at home to the Saints, as they earned their and of the season respectively, but either may be replaced with Thursday’s match crucial to Liverpool’s hopes of a top-four finish.
Klopp’s Reds head to Old Trafford but having played a game less than fourth-placed Leicester City and fifth-placed West Ham United, though require the Foxes to drop points with a six point deficit to Brendan Rodgers’ King Power Stadium natives.
TBR’s view:
Fabinho was excellent in the holding midfield role during Liverpool’s win over Southampton at the weekend, with the £39m () former AS Monaco anchor able to dictate the pace of proceedings by moving the ball around well and offer crucial tackles when needed.
Neither Phillips nor Williams was particularly poor, either, and will have taken confidence in how they dealt with Che Adams and Nathan Tella as the visitors threw players forward in hopes of an equaliser, so may feel hard done by to now be potentially replaced by Fabinho.
Yet the importance of Thursday’s trip to Manchester United for Liverpool – not just this season but next – will see that Klopp opts to have his best and most experienced options on the field, against a Red Devils side that is since January.